I'm hoping that someone has an answer to this problem. I was getting ready to order some shoes and boots for my girls tonight from Lands End. There is a shoe size chart in the catalog that I was using.

Karissa (my mild left hemi) now has over a two size difference in her feet. Her left foot is not quite a 1 and her right foot is about a 3.5. She does not wear any bracing although that may change after heel cord surgery coming up in November.

What do I do? Am I stuck buying two pairs of $40 shoes??? It's so hard finding supportive shoes for a girl her age. Everything is slip-on, clogs, etc.. I was happy to find some velcro maryjanes at Lands End but they aren't cheap.

Is there anywhere I can order two different sizes? Are there inserts I can put in left shoe??

Thanks -

Lori :0)

This sounds like a perfect time to contact Land's End customer service and ask if they make any special accomodations for kids with special health care needs such as your dd. I'd do it in writing, though. The person who answers the phone at customer service will be low on the totem pole.

Or, you could call and ask that person if you can speak with a supervisor...

Alternatively, if you have a Land's End store near you (a regular one, not one in Sears), I'd go in to the store. The generally have superb customer service and strike me as the kind of company which would be willing to work on something for you.

Laurie

I already tried contacting Lands End - no such program.

I did contact Nordstroms and they do have a program in place. You can do it thru their catalog department or at any store. We don't have a Nordstroms here but I will keep it in mind for the future.

I did buy some Lands End shoes for her yesterday at Sears. She's doing okay with them since the style of the shoes allows them to be tightened on her smaller foot. I don't want to do much more until after her surgery -- there's a pretty good chance she'll need an AFO for awhile.

Boy does this bring back memories...

When I was her age, they took me out of one afo, and left the other foot braced (why they'd do that to a diplegic, I don't know). We were super-duper poor, so mom couldn't always do the two pairs of shoes method. Her solution was big thick socks on the unbraced foot, and hoping for the best. On occasion, she bent the law. I remember once she just switched them in the store, and told me never to tell... that it was ok because we needed to do it. Back then, they weren't as militant about checking matching sizes as they are now. And another time she just put the shoes on me (in the two different sizes) and took the empty box to the cashier, asking her if I could wear them out. That worked too. Not that I'm condoning "breaking" the shoe laws, or anything

I'm bilaterally braced now, and have found that the best athletic shoes are that stretchy fabric-ish netting material rather than leather. Saucony makes shoes like this. Not sure if they make kids' sizes, but might be worth a try. There's more "give" and you can tie them snugger than leather sneakers. Even though my feet are the same size now, one brace is a bit bulkier than the other.

HTH.

Rats. I expected more from Land's End. Glad Nordstroms has such a program.

Do you have a LE store near you? We find tons of stuff there on clearance, which is easier on the shoe budget if you are going to have to buy doubles anyway. Of course, as you pointed out, that may be a moot point if she has an AFO after surgery.

Laurie

Nordstrom is awesome!!! Their customer service is top-notch, along with their products. They ship anything right to you and take anything returned...no questions asked. If they offer this program, I definitely suggest giving it a try. They carry a lot of the same kids' shoes you can see at stores near you. Since there's not a Nordstrom in your area, go to another store and check out the sizes. The order your sizes from Nordstrom...they're great!!!

my little bro wears a brace, so i know that problem. my mom always just gets him clogs, or cleapish shoes. you could get shoes that are the same size and fill them in with cloth or stuff like that

Here is a grea website for shoes, that are made for AFO. I have a 6 year old that had a right Hemi(removal of half the brain) and she has a AFO on the left foot. It is Hatchbacks footware. They specialize in shoes for AFO.
Teresa

When I was a teen, I worked for Rockport shoes. They own New Balance. They did have a program there and it was store policy to make accomidations for people with special needs when it comes to shoe size issues.

Believe it or not, there are even typical people who have shoe size issues. Most of the higher end places will help you out with that if you either call them directly or go to one of their "boutique" stores and ask to talk to the manager because they want the repeat business.